Vyapam scam: Another death, constable probed by MP police commits suicide

Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh: The multi-crore Vyapam scam continues to get murkier by the day even though Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is under tremendous scrutiny from the Opposition for the mysterious deaths and lawlessness in the state.

In yet another shocker, a 40-year-old constable, Ramakant Panda, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his residence on Tuesday.

According to TV reports, the constable was questioned by the Madhya Pradesh police's special team investigating the Vyapam scam.

However, police claim that Panda was an alcoholic and under heavy debt, which is why he committed suicide.

Read: Centre too says no to CBI probe

Refusing for a CBI probe in the deaths, Chouhan on Monday said that all deaths should not be linked to the Vyapam scam.

His comments came after 25-year-old trainee sub-inspector Anamika Kushwaha’s body was found in a lake adjacent to the Police Training Academy at Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district headquarters on Monday.

She was recruited in the police through an exam conducted by Vyapam, a board that holds tests for recruitment to government jobs and college admissions.

Read: Deadly deaths in Vyapam scam: ‘I am a minister yet I am scared,’ says Uma Bharti

While the Centre ruled out a CBI probe into the scam, as demanded by the Opposition, for the time being, the Congress continued to press for Chouhan’s immediate resignation to let an “impartial investigation” take place.

The Congress alleged that Chouhan cannot “escape responsibility for 45 deaths” of people who had some connection with the case.

Meanwhile, the main whistleblower in the Vyapam case, Ashish Chaturvedi, claimed that there was a “grave threat” to his life and accused Chouhan of being “directly involved” in the scam, a charge that was rubbished by the CM.

Read: What Vyapam scam is all about

The Opposition has, so far, linked nearly 45 deaths to the scam.

One set of Excel sheets related to the scam that have remained controversial have the names of candidates, their roll numbers, and their references — ranging from “CM”, “CM’s residence”, “Uma Bharati” and “Governor”, among others.